England Taking Undeserved Flak After Strong, Balanced Win over Estonia

England made it nine points out of a possible nine on Sunday evening as they claimed a precious 1-0 victory in Estonia.

The Three Lions dominated for long periods but failed to make the breakthrough from open play, but Wayne Rooney converted a sumptuous free-kick late in the second half to seal the result.

Let's look at some tactical takeaways from this match.

Formations and XIs

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Estonia played a 4-5-1/4-3-3 with Henri Anier up front all alone. England played the 4-4-2 diamond, with Jordan Henderson at the base, Adam Lallana at the tip and a Fabian Delph-Jack Wilshere shuttler combination.

Semi-Balanced England, Led By Jack

The general performance by England, despite only winning 1-0 via a Wayne Rooney free-kick, was actually very positive. They struggled to break through for much of the game, certainly, but the offensive effort was balanced, intricate and easy on the eye.

Jack Wilshere was at the heart of all good things for England, playing at right-central-midfield and committing to moving the ball quickly early on. He and Lallana in particular filtered wide and played superb, clever passes into strong positions in the box.

WhoScored.com

The distribution of touches, per WhoScored.com, was fairly even across the board, although the largest concentration is outside the box and slightly to the right (the area Wilshere played).

Henderson was largely untroubled and Delph, playing left-central-midfield, wasn't favoured; if there's a complaint to be had about a lack of balance, it's not about width, it's this.

Width Inefficiency vs. Rooney Inefficiency

As the clock ticked on with the score at 0-0, England were dominating possession (33-67 percent, per WhoScored.com) but failing to make the breakthrough. As usual, when using this diamond formation, many took to social media to question the lack of width.

ITV Sport

The inefficiency in the side, however, lies with Rooney and the overall lack of finishing. Wilshere and Co. served up at least three excellent chances for the strikers, and it's not the formation or the midfield's fault they could not convert.

In the end the captain made amends, but the 25 shots and 19 key passes served up, per WhoScored.com, suggest the Three Lions had more than enough attacking verve about them to score a fair few more on any other day.

ITV Sport

The biggest catalyst for change was the introduction of both Raheem Sterling and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who provided runs in behind and vertical play through the middle of the pitch.

Lallana vs. Sterling

The biggest story emanating from this match is not, in fact, a solid away victory at a tough venue with a clean sheet to match. In fact, that England have secured six points and not conceded a goal over the last four days has been completely swept under the carpet.

The story, instead, is that Sterling was "feeling a bit tired," per the Mirror, and it's been insinuated that he didn't wish to play. Roy Hodgson played Lallana from the start and brought Sterling on later as a result, and this has thrown up an interesting depth quirk in both England and Liverpool's ranks.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

To have two players so different in their approach, despite playing the same position, is a fantastic asset for Hodgson. He has Sterling, who blazes on the counterattack, to play against stronger sides, and Lallana, who picks the lock in tight spaces like no other, to play against the weak.

It's an ideal matchup scenario; the boss can assess how he thinks the game will pan out territory-wise and select the No. 10 best suited. Few have that luxury.

Quickfire Conclusions

• Wilshere, named Man of the Match, was deserving of the award.
• Calum Chambers played better from right-back, forgetting his poor showing on Thursday.
• Wayne Rooney's free-kick hasn't hidden his misses. Those who believe he has no place in this international setup are turning up the volume.
• Oxlade-Chamberlain made some great vertical runs after coming on, changing the gears in this England side.

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